VOA标准英语2012--Checking the AIDS 2012 Report Card

 

Checking the AIDS 2012 Report Card

The 19th international AIDS Conference produced a flood of reports, recommendations and warnings about the epidemic¹. The head of a leading AIDS advocacy group questions whether such meetings are getting too big and too complex.

AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren says on a scale from one to 10, he gives AIDS 2012 a score of five. He gives the conference high marks for political commitment, vision and rhetoric², but low scores for science and – what he called – the “nuts and bolts” of what comes next.

“The conference is too big, too long. So you have all of this noise and the challenge is [in] the next week or two how do we cut through that noise and figure out, for me the single most important question, now what?”

The conference program is the size of a phone book, listing many sessions from early morning to evening. Warren says the program reflects the complexity³ of the epidemic.

“This is certainly a scientific meeting to a small degree. It’s a policy to a small degree. It’s a community forum⁴ to a very large degree. I’m that’s good. It’s exciting that we see all of these different elements come together. Sifting⁵ through it is hard. One of the good parts of the conference is actually what happens outside of the conference room. You can get the power point presentations or see the slides on line or watch the webcast. I think the best part of the conference is to connect with the partners on the ground, who are doing the work,” he said.

He said many terms are “bandied about” at the conference, such as “ending AIDS,” “ending the epidemic,’ and an “AIDS-free generation.” He said they all have slightly different meanings.

“They’re all very aspirational⁶ goals. I’m excited about the aspirational goals. I think they give us a direction. They give us a target, but nothing about this is simple. I think what this meeting tells me is that we’re not here to celebrate success because we have not been successful in our AIDS response. We’re here, though, celebrating the opportunity that we might succeed,” he said.

But he said to do that, very specific targets must be set and resources must be used very efficiently⁷. Warren supports a combination approach to HIV/AIDS.

“If we only dealt with stigma⁸ and discrimination, we would make enormous progress. We wouldn’t end the epidemic though. If we only dealt with Treatment as Prevention, we would make progress, but we wouldn’t end the epidemic. If we had a vaccine⁹, we would make great progress, but we wouldn’t end the epidemic. The best AIDS response is the one that puts all of the pieces together,” he said.

He added that all those battling the epidemic, whether on the science or social level, must base their efforts on evidence. Only then, Warren says, will the next step be reached.

AIDS 2014 will be held Melbourne, Australia.

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

4 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

5 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

6 aspirational   

志同的，有抱负的

参考例句：

• Most of the images that bombard us all are aspirational. 轰击的图像，我们都期望最大。
• Analysts said self-help and aspirational reading could explain India's high figures. 分析师们指出，自助读书、热爱读书是印度人均读书时间超过别的国家的主要原因。

7 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

8 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

9 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。